Cheering Up, Charmander Style
by BlueStripedPolo
Summary: When Donald leaves to go on his Pokemon journey, his younger brother is left all alone and gloomy. But, with the help of a Charmander, can Jasper be cheered up?


**Oneshot- Cheering Up; Charmander Style**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.**

**Author's Note: You know it's been too long when you forget how you "head" your stories. The last time I posted/updated anything was August 20th, 2010. It _has _been too long! I have three Pokemon oneshots that have been in my head for _years_! And possibly a "Cheaper by the Dozen" one, for any of you who watch a lot of movies. Hopefully, I'll get those done by the beginning of summer, then I can spend all summer writing chapter stories. Enjoy!**

"Bye, mom!" Donald had called out only a few minutes earlier. "I'm off to get my Pokemon!"

Now, eight-year-old Jasper sat at the bar, all alone. All three of his older siblings were gone; they had left him, the youngest, behind.

"Jasper," his mom said from the kitchen. "Go get dressed in some play clothes, and then come back down for breakfast."

Jasper pushed away from the bar, nearly knocking his stool over. He stormed upstairs, mad and upset that his own _mother_ didn't even care that he was going to be lonely, and have no one to play with for the next two years. That was when he was going to get his Pokemon. A Charmander, who would be his best friend for life and play with him every day.

He quickly changed into a pair of black shorts, and a red T-shirt. He put on his Ash Ketchum hat, and tugged on some socks and his pair of tennis shoes that had been Donald's before. He stomped back down the stairs.

"Jasper? Why do you have your shoes on?"

"I'm going on a walk," he said stubbornly, and his mom knew he wasn't going to budge. Especially when he had his arms crossed, which he did.

"Eat something first, okay Jasper?"

"No!" And with that, he stomped outside, the slamming of the door covering the sound of his mother's sigh.

He walked, his head held high, and his skinny arms crossed over his chest, out to a spot that he and his siblings had found years before. Before Addison, the oldest, had departed on her Pokemon journey. It was a clearing in the woods, with a small creek dividing it in half. It was at that clearing that they had had some of the greatest snowball fights ever, and splashed each other every day of the summer. During the spring, wild Pokemon would flock to the creek, and under Addison's leading, they would chase them away, trying to "capture" them. During the fall, the leaves would cover the ground, and they would tackle each other and take each other hostage, using the crunchy leaves as weapons.

Once, they had even watched over a bunch of Squirtle eggs that the mother Squirtle had laid there. That was during the spring of Addison's tenth birthday, and she delayed her Pokemon journey just to watch them hatch. One of the Squirtles was actually now her Blastoise. The spring after that, Ellenor had found a wounded Bulbasaur at the creek, and took it to Professor Oak, but insisted that he let her take care of it. Which, amazingly, he had. Addison had come back to see the Bulbasaur, and the four of them had plenty of inside jokes about a Charmander appearing at the creek.

Jasper sighed, and sat down at the edge of the creek. He rested his head on his knees, sadly watching the water flow by. Addison had gone, which hadn't been so bad because he had only been five, and Ellenor and Donald were still left. But then Ellenor had left, leaving him with only Donald. And he hadn't gotten along with Donald all the time, but at least he was still there. But, finally, it had become Donald's turn to leave.

And so Jasper was left all alone.

A tear dropped down his cheek at the thought, and suddenly, he couldn't stop. All that was running through his head was the thought that his siblings had left him all alone, and he was going to be so lonely, and there would be no one for him to play with.

A twig cracked behind him, and Jasper whipped his head up.

A few times, dangerous wild Pokemon had come to the creek. But Addison, Ellenor and Donald had always known what to do- Jasper didn't.

He stopped crying, and sat very, _very_ still. Probably as still as the energetic eight-year-old had ever sat.

Footsteps moved closer to him, and Jasper strained his ears, trying to determine whether it was human or Pokemon footsteps. He guessed it was Pokemon footsteps, and quickly thought through the dangerous Pokemon they had encountered.

Beedrill.

Ekans.

Mankey.

Beedrill was out, because you could hear them buzzing. Ekans was also out, because they didn't have feet. So, that left Mankey.

Jasper shuddered, remembering the time a Mankey had found them in the clearing. They had been so lucky that Addison had went through a Mankey phase before and knew exactly what to do.

He tried to remember, just as the Mankey reached him and put its hand on his shoulder. Jasper silently gulped.

"Charmander?"

Jasper whipped around, and came face-to-face with the orange face of a Charmander.

"Ah!" He shouted out, despite himself, and fell backwards. The Charmander cocked its head.

"Char?" It asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Jasper said to the Pokemon. "I just wasn't expecting you. I was actually expecting a Mankey." He sat back up, and the Charmander sat back beside him, and trained its green eyes on him. Jasper smiled, and stroked the top of its head. Professor Oak had once told him Charmanders liked that. The Charmander let out a sigh of contentment, and Jasper sighed from sadness.

"I guess I was just feeling down because my brother Donald is leaving on his Pokemon journey today. He's the third oldest out of us four kids. I'm the youngest. And, I'm all alone now. Addison is in Hoenn, and Ellenor is probably on a beach on Cinnabar Island, working on her tan." He looked down at the Charmander. "She never was much of the trainer type."

"We've had so many fun times at this clearing right here, and it's sad to think that I won't have anyone to play with. I don't know what I'm going to do."

Suddenly, another pair of footsteps burst into the clearing.

"Jasper?"

Jasper stood up and turned around, recognizing the voice.

"Donald?"

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be eating breakfast?"

"Probably," Jasper said guiltily, shifting his feet and looking down. "But what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be on your journey by now?"

"I should be," Donald agreed. "But _that_ little rascal," he pointed at Charmander, "escaped from the lab, and Professor Oak asked me to bring him back." He strode over to the Charmander and scooped him up.

"C'mon, I'll walk you back into town," Donald said, jerking his head to the exit of the clearing. Jasper sighed internally, and walked next to his brother. He had really been hoping he was going to get and keep the Charmander, just like Addison had kept her Squirtle, and Ellenor her Bulbasaur.

The Charmander started squirming, and suddenly bit Donald.

"Ow!" Donald cried out in surprise, and held the bitten finger, dropping the Charmander.

Charmander scampered over to Jasper, and clutched onto his leg. "Charmander, charmander char!"

Donald looked at how the Charmander clutched onto Jasper's leg, and noticed the surprised yet happy look on Jasper's face.

"You know what?" Donald asked. "I'll tell Professor Oak I couldn't find him." He turned and walked back out of the clearing, sucking on his finger.

Jasper just stood there in shock, and looked down at the Charmander, who was looking back up at him.

"Yes, yes, _yes_!" Jasper cheered. He took Charmander's paws and did a happy dance.

They _didn't_ leave him alone. He _would_ have a friend, and someone to play with. And his Charmander, his best friend for life who would play with him everyday, had come _early_.

He finally knew why Addison had waited for her Squirtle to hatch, and why Ellenor insisted on working so hard at caring for her Bulbasaur. He had been cheered up in the best way possible; Charmander style.

**Author's Note: Okay, so, what did you think? Tell me in a review- with lots of constructive criticism, please! Also, if you're curious as to what I'm going to be doing next, I have a Twitter account! My username is "BlueStripedPolo", and I'll tweet about what I just posted, and what I'm working on- things like that. Review? And check out the poll on my profile?**


End file.
